Four hundred years after the death of Shakespeare, vocal ensemble Calmus plans to commemorate the monumental writer through song.
Calmus will take the stage at 4 p.m. Monday in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall to perform “All the World is a Stage” as part of the Logan Chamber Music Series.
Members of the a cappella quintet include soprano Anja Pöche, countertenor Sebastian Krause, tenor Tobias Pöche, baritone Ludwig Böhme and bass Manuel Helmeke.
All graduates of Leipzig’s St. Thomas Church Choir School, the ensemble’s combination of a soprano and four male voices creates a “unique and fascinating” sound, Pöche said.
The concert will feature vocal renditions of selections from Shakespeare’s great works, such as Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cymbeline, The Tragedy of Othello, The Fairy Queen and The Tempest. Each segment will be separated by one of his sonnets.
The vast amount of great works produced by Shakespeare continues to prompt debate about the authenticity of his output, the quintet explained in the concert’s program. Doubt in his work often originates from the expanse of genres, as well as both the lowly and aristocratic vocabulary used.
However, the ensemble wrote that those mysteries inspire them as singers.
“The question marks and subjective interpretations of the words written by this ‘foggy’ figure who lived 400 years ago only adds to the allure as we try to bring meaning to his poetry through song,” Calmus wrote in the program.
Through deciding upon selections for the program, the group noticed they gravitated toward compositions by Henry Purcell.
See Calmus, Page 4
